In celebration of the power of forgiveness and its origins in silence, all are invited to the 12th Annual Hawai’i International Forgiveness Day, at Chaminade University on Sunday August 3 from 2:00 - 5:00 pm.

This creative festival will be held at the extraordinary, circular space known as the MysticalRose Oratory, 3140 Waialae Ave, Honolulu, HI 96816; on the campus of Chaminade University in Kaimuki at the corner of Waialae and 3rd Avenue. http://goo.gl/maps/dVpv0

The whole family is welcome, to discover the roots of forgiveness in a profound, shared experience -- the inner sound of silence.

For twelve years, the Hawai’i Forgiveness Project has explored the mystery of forgiveness from hundreds of perspectives. We have often heard -- when people arrive at the center of the mystery of forgiveness -- “Beyond this, there are no words. I am breathless, in silence.”

Inspired by this idea, we decided to declare this year’s Hawai’i International Forgiveness Day a time of shared silence. Hundreds of people come to Forgiveness Day -- is it possible to draw that many people into a sincere, reflective silence? How would that experience feel?

A short musical visit to the Mystical Rose Oratory, a sanctuary created and maintained by the
Marianist Order on the campus of Chaminade University, Honolulu

During our twelve years of monthly meetings and annual celebrations, we have shared our experience of situations that are “impossible” to forgive, within our community and worldwide. Speakers join us each month, helping to experience their own personal processes. Their insights guide us on less-traveled paths, so we always discover deeper places within ourselves, with an increased sense of compassion and gratitude.

We see the human need to forgive, and the fundamental ways in which we are all connected.

All of our events are completely free, and are designed as an educational festival for the entire family, an extended ‘ohana. International Forgiveness Day is celebrated in more than 80 countries, on the first Sunday of August -- and the event in Hawai’i is one of the largest.

We have invited five Silence Guides to our 2014 festival, each from a different tradition or discipline. Each will present his or her unique entry points into the universal state of silence. With a minimum of words to explain, they will draw us into silence together -- using speech, music, images, movement, breath, visualization -- moving into ourselves, and a deeper sense of who we are, in forgiveness.

Our Guides draw their inspiration and their daily practice from:

the original Hawaiian tradition

the Christian faith

the Buddhist faith

the art of Dance

the art of Music

For a few minutes, each Silence Guide will explain their approach to silence...and then for 15 minutes, we will dive into silence together. Then we enter silence again, from a new angle with a new Silence Guide...repeating the cycle five times.

We will also present Heroes of Forgiveness Recognition Awards, and will invite artists to submit their expressions of Forgiveness in creative writing, dance, music and visual arts. We will honor their work with Forgiveness Arts Awards, and display it at the event.

Sincere thanks to the good people at Chaminade University, to our Silence Guides, and to the hundreds of people and scores of organizations who provide their selfless support. Full details at http://www.hawaiiforgivenessproject.org, or call 521-9222.

Posters Past: selected from the first 11 years of festivals by the
Hawai’i Forgiveness Project